Operating means



1,593,?28 A. H. STEBBINS OPERATING MEANS Filed Dec, 20, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheei' 1 July 27 ATTOf/VEY Patented July 27, 1926.

ALBERT H. STEBBINS, 0F os ANGELrs, 'oA'LiFoRNiA'.

OPERATING MEANS.

Application filed December 2021924. serial-Nb: 75?,1fi'.

This in'veiitio'n relates to means; for inipart'hig' whack aii'cl iioith or vibratory movement todiil'erent typeso'l separators A vibratory nirivemeiit is commonly i111- parted togoncentiater decks and screens to a'tl't arlce the; iiiate'r'i'als lengthwise of the saiiieiaaficl the movem nt may serve also to shift the materials so that dili'eient particles a'i Bimighfl i i'ti')" engagement with the deck o'1 fsf c i'ee1i" siirfaee; H

The nature of the movement imparted to a coiiceiitfatoi deck is'iniportaiit, for While it"s'hoiiltl energetic enough to promote travel of the materials lengthwise of the deck, itmust not be strong enough to distiiiflef' the foi'iiiatioii of the materials into (liil'eiRent strata. In screens the movement s'hoiilrlsefveto ad ance the inater'ials aloiig the sereeiisuiiaee mid to bring every particle of li'ia'terial into engagement with the screen siiifaee, but should not be strong enough to rush the iiiat'erials albiig Without screening theii'i propefly.

()iie' of thejhesti known" movements for aydv'gi-ric'iiig niat'e i'ia'ls' along the surface of a deck or sei'eeii is a back and forth move- 111611 3 WlllCllXCVlfiE its direction rapidly at Che end of its stroke and slowly at the other end of its stroke. This causes the mat :ls to: slide a short clista1ice' along the cl'ek' surface each time" the movemeiit in one tlll ctl'Oll is feVersecl quickly.

Tlie' vibratory means of the preseiit inventidii adl'niiahly"adapted to impart a PTO- giessive movement to a cleek oi screen, and the 'ni'ove'ii'ient produced. in accordance with the pie'sentiiiveiiti'on ma be readily varied to meet (liilereiit requirements.

In table (foiiceiitrator's and in screens it may be desirable to impart an upthrow movement to the material supporting" surfaee z'is' it iiiove's-ba'elz and forth in the dii eet'ibii of its length. To this enclt'he' (leek, screen, 01 other material supporting frame may be supported by swiiigiiig arms that gau e the frame to rise" and fall as it moves iiith e cliiecti'oi'i of its leiigth; The ZLYHOUIH) of tip-thfow inovemeiit'imparted' to a frax'n'e depends iipo'ii the length of the supporting ai'ri is and the position of theare' through Which the amps swing, and the np throw ihdvementwill' increase as this are is shifted may from the i 'iitical plane" assing tl'ii'ough the" pivot o'fthe ioekiii'gjlzir i'nsp It is ofteii" desirable iii treating differs-m: ils to changethfii-pthrewmovement imparted to tli'ehiiate'i siippoitihg fl'iime, a'hd (flit? inipoitaiitlemme 0 i1iepieent iii'ientioii, therefb're',resides iii-a Iioiel Coils-sti-iictioii to?" o'pe'i'atiii'g said frame;- and W'lii .1 1115: he readily" atljiis-t'ed dui iiig the dpeiitio'ii of the hie'eliifi'e'" to vary the spthioii iiiove-hieii t.-

Another feature of the ifiVe'iitioh-re'sid'es in a pair of eec'entrie's that are: operated at an angle toea'eh otliei' et-ha" aehfmo'el'i' lies the aetitin of the other 'iip'oii the deck or semen heingvih'ratedl- V Aiio'thei" feature of the iiiveiitioli resides in the arrangemerit by Wli'ichtiio angumly disposed eeeenti'ics act against mingle lever to actuate the lei/er anftl" the material suppoitiiig' suff'aee to which the level is coniie'eteol.

Still another featiiiedf the iiivehtioti resicles' in the rioyelcoiisttuetioii and-srraii ement of parts for coni ect inga ioekiiiglever to the material suppoitiiigli-aiiie itop'e'rates.

Qihf features of tlie'inveiitioii and novel combination of parts in addition to the above will hereinafter he tleseribetl' in edit ne'etion with the" acc'onipa'xiying drawings, which illustrate good; practical fo'rihs thereof;

In the drawi gs} 1 Fig. l is aside elevation of a'eoricentfator table provided with operating" means constructed iii aeeoitlaiiee With the p're's'eiit ini e'hti'oii. I p

Fig. Zis a tap plan v'ie'iv o'f'tlies'uppoftii g base of 1 with the (leek and car'- i'iagi e IQl'llOVECll H 7 Fl 3 isan' enlargedlongituciinal sectional vie'i of a pol tic-1i (if the operatiiig shaft andgone; anaemic. v

Fig; {i is a sectioiiali ie'i'v taken on the line i ofFig. 1 p i v Fig 5: is af see'tioh'al viei'v taken on the llfiQ S -5' of Fig. lg a'ritl Fig. 6 is a side ef l eya tion' of a creen provided with a modified fdriii of operating ii'ieans.

Iiithe emhooliiiiefit of the invention shown in'" Figs. 1 to 5 massive a suppertingbase is provided consisting of longitudinally extending side rails supported by spaced uprights 11 and the opposite sides of the base are secured in spaced relation by transversely extending braces 12. This base serves to support a carriage 13 for back and forth movement, and upon the carriage 13 is mounted a concentrator deck is which may have any well known or preferred construction.

The means shown for supporting the carriage and deck for back and forth movement consists of transversely extending shafts 15 supported by brackets 16 rigidly secured to the supporting base and the opposite ends of the shafts 15 are provided with downwardly extending arms 17 near the lower ends of which are provided the laterally extending stub shafts 18. The stub shafts 18 extend into bearing brackets 19 rigidly secured to the under face of the carriage 18. The arrangement is such that as the deck and carriage are moved back and forth, the arms 17 swing about the axis of the supporting shafts 15 and the weight of the carriage and deck is supported at a point below the shafts 15 by the stub shafts 18. This construction causes the deck to rise and fall as it moves back and forth in the direction of its length.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1 the materials to be treated are supplied to the deck by a hopper 20, and the air which is forced upwardly through the apertured deck surface is supplied by a fan 21 which is connected to the chamber below the deck surface by a flexible tube 22.

The deck supporting arms 17 serve to im part an up-throw movement to the deck as the latter moves back and forth, and this up-throw movement may be varied as desired by varying the position. of the arcs through which the arms 17 swing. As stated, one important feature of the present invention resides in the construction by which the operating means for the deck may be readily adjusted to vary the up-throw movement imparted to the deck. To this end, in the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, a longitudinally extending bolt or shaft 23 is adjustably secured to the under face of the carriage 13 by spaced brackets 24: each of which is constructed to embrace this shaft, and one end of the shaft is operatively connected to a power actuated lever to force the deck in one direction and the other end of this shaft is connected to spring actuated means for moving the deck in the opposite direction. In the construction shown, the power actuated lever 25 is supported by a transversely extending shaft 26 the ends of which are supported by brackets 27 secured to the supporting base. The lever 25 is-shown as having a circular head or drum portion which is con centric with the supporting shaft 26 and in which two cable-receiving grooves 27 are formed. The arrangement is such that the cable 28 has an intermediate portion looped about the lever 25 as indicated at 29, and the looped strands of the cable pass part way around the head of the lever 25 within the grooves 27, and the ends of these strands are anchored in a block 80 which is threaded or otherwise secured to one end of the shaft 23. In this manner the operating cable 28 is readily secured to the rocking lever 25 and both ends of this cable may be secured to the block 30 by forming enlargements 31 at the ends of the cable.

In the construction shown in Figs, 1 to 5 inclusive, the opposite end of the shaft 23 is similarly secured to a spring actuated lever 32 by a cable 33. The lever 32 is supported by the transversely extending shaft 34 and this lever has a rounded head or drum portion in which grooves 35 are formed to receive the strands of the cable that extend from the lever to the block 36 to which the ends of the cable are secured. The lever 32 forms part of a rocking frame consisting of spaced side arms 37 having holes at one end through which the shaft 34 extends, and these spaced arms are rigidly connected by a transversely extending bar 88 that extends through an opening formed in the outer end portion of the lever 32, and the arms 37 are also connected by the transversely extending bar 39. The object in providing the rocking frame just described is to give the same sufiicient width to ac commodate several operating springs 40 which serve to rock this frame in a clockwise direction. Three coiled springs 40 are shown. and each spring is operatively con nected to the rocking frame by a rod 41 which extends through the coiled spring. Each rod il is fastened to the transversely extending shaft 89 by a U-shaped clamp 42 and upon the opposite end of each rod l1 is provided a cup 43 against which one end of a spring 40 abuts, while the opposite end of the spring abuts against a rigid portion supported by the machine base. The tension of each spring may be varied by ad justing the nuts 44 upon the end of the shaft 41 The rocking lever 32, under the action of the springs iO continuously urges the deck and carriage 13 in a right-hand direction, and movement of the power actuated lever 25 in a contra-clockwise direction serves to pull the deck and carriage in an opposite direction. Rocking movement is imparted to the lever 25 by the rotating shaft 4.5 in a. manner to be described, and the lever 25 is forced away from the shaft 45 by the power actuated means, the deckis pulled in a left-hand direction, and as the lever 25 is permitted to approach the shaft 4.5, the

metres springs serve to move the deck in a ri ght-hand direction.

From the operating means described it will be seen that rocking movement of one operating lever is imparted directly to the other lever through the operating cables 28 and 33, and the shaft 23, to which these cables are secured. In this mannerthe supporting carriage 13 is relieved to a. substantial degree from the strain of the operating mechanism, and this construction has a further advantage in that the arcs through which the rocking arms 17 swing may be readily varied by effecting a length wise adjustment between the shaft 23 and deck carriage 13. This is readily accomplished in the present construction by providing the shaft 23 with a rotating wheel 46 which is confined between the bearing blocks 24 and which has threaded engagement with the shaft 23, the arrangement being such that rotation of the wheel 46 will force the deck carriage lengthwise of the shaft 23 and this serves to swing the arms 17 so that they will travel back and forth through a different arc. The shaft 23 is prevented from turning in its bearing blocks 2 by bolts 46 or keys, which extend into a slot formed in the shaft 23. Due to the present construction, the connection between each of the operating levers and the shaft 23 need not be disturbed in effecting a change in the up-throw movement, but the desired adjustment may be effected by simply turning the wheel l6 and this may be done during the operation of the concentrator so that the different effects produced by clifferent adjustments may be readily noted.

Various means might be provided for imparting the desired rocking movement to the operating lever 25, but in the present construction novel means is provided for operating this lever, which consists in a pair of angularly disposed eccentrics 47 and 48, both of which act against the same face of the lever 25 and the arrangement is such that the lever is actuated by one eccentric during a partial rotation of the shaft and is actuated by the other eccentric during a further rotation of this shaft. The shaft 45 rotates in the bearings 45* and may be driven by a pulley 49. If the eccentrics 47 and 48 were caused to rotate directly against the face of the lever 25 a large amount of friction would be produced, and to obviate this each eccentric is provided with a sleeve 50 which engages and actuates the lever 25, and anti friction means 51 of any preferred oi well known construction are provided between the sleeve 50 and the eccentric shaft whichthe sleeve surrounds. Each of the anti-friction means shown consists of an inner ring 52 which is snugly fitted on an eccentric and the'oiiter ring 53 of each anti-friction device is snugly fitted in the bore the sleeve 50. Due to this construction the eccentrics may rotate within the sleeves 50' without turning these sleeves. The antifriction devices are held from moving lengthwise of the shaft 4-5 by collars 5e which are confined between an integral shoulder 55 formed upon the shaft 45, and a nut 56 having threaded engagement with this shaft, and the two sleeves 50 may be spaced from each other by a ring 57 loosely mounted upon the shoulder 55.

The eccentrics 1-7 and 48 may be disposed at any desired angle to each other, and in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive the eccentrics are shown as disposed at an acute angle to each other, while in Fig. 6 they are disposed at an angle of 180 degrees to each other. The object of providing two angularly disposed eccentrics to operate the lever 25 in place of an ordinary cam or other operating means is to cause each eccentric to modify the movement imparted to the lever 25 by the other eccentric.

In the present construction, as one eccentric moves away from the lever 25 the deck will .move in a right-hand direction, under the action of the springs 40, and as the deck moves rapidly in this direction, its move ment will he suddenly checked by a second eccentric coming into engagement with the lever 25 to force it in the opposite direction. This sudden cl'iecking of the movement of the deck in a right-hand direction serves to impart the desired progressive movement to the materials being treated, and in this manner a much more effective progressive movement can be secured than is possible through a single cam or eccentric.

If the sleeves 50 and lever 25 are constructed of metal, more or less shock will be imparted to the lever as the sleeves 50 are moved rapidly into contact with the lever, and to avoid this it may be desirable to provide the lever with a cushion 58 formed of rubber or other resilient material which will serve to absorb the shock between these elements and also to reduce the noise produced by the operating parts. A spring 59, one end of which is anchored to the supporting base, and the other end of which is connected to the lever 25 by a rod 60, may be provided to force the lever 25 towards the actuating eccentrics. ii

If the deck or screen supported by the rocking arms 17 is relatively heavy it may be desirable to provide a number of springs to help support the weight of the frame that is being vibrated, and to'this end in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, coiled springs 61 are provided which are confined between the supporting base and the under face of the carriage 13. be strong enough. to support a substantial portion of the weight which would be other- These springs may wise supported by the arm 17 and they help to impartthe up-throw movement to the deck as it moves back and forth.

In the construction disclosed in Fig. 6 a screen frame 62 is shown in place of the deck 14 of 1 and this screen may supported by swinging arms 17 which operate the same as in Fig. 1. lilaterials may be supplied to this screen 62 by a hopper 63 and the screen may be moved in one direction by a rocking lever which pivotally supported between its ends by a shaft 65, and the upper end of this lever is connected by links 86 to a bolt (3'? that extends through :1 lug rigidly secured to the under face of the scrcen f ame. Rockin: movement may be imparted to the lever 64 by pair of angul: ly dis osed eccentrics provided upon the sh: l

(3F) and which opcrate in the manner above described, except that these eccentrics are here shown as disposed at an angle of 1.80 degrees to each other. The screen frame (:2 is urg l in a right-hand direction by tie rocking lever pivotally mounted at 71, and the upper end of which is connected by links 732 to a bolt 73 extending through the lug 7 lfastened to the under side of the screen frame. The bolts 67 and 73 may be adjusted lengthwise within the lugs through which they extend by operating the adjusting nuts 75. it is desirable to provide means for connecting the bolts 67 and 73 so that the pull may be transferred directly from one to the other, and to this end a relatively long threaded sleeve 76 is provided into which the ends of each of the bolts just mentioned may be screwed. The spring actuated lever 70 may be connected to the spring 77 in a manner similar to the springs l0 above described.

Altl'iough one form of operit'i r means has been shown for operating a o- .r and a di ferent construction for operating a screen frame, it will be understood that either construction may be employed to impart a back and forth movement to a deck, screen or other form of separator employing a vibratory movement.

The construction ierein described, by which the power actuated means is connected to one end of the shaft 23, and the spring actuated means is connected to the other end of this snaft, is in lily desirable, because it forms a direct connection from one operating means to the other, and provides a construction that may be easily adjusted during the operation of the machine to vary the up-throw movement. -.t may be desirable to make this adjustment at frequent intervals to vary the operation of the machine, and this is accomplished by merely turning the wheel d6 in one direction or the other. After the shaft 23 has been adjusted to the desired position by the wheel 426, it may be in this position by ightening the nuts 78. Adjustment of the shaft 23 relative to the carriage 13 does not affect the tension of the cables 28 and 33 which need be adjusted only when they get out of order.

Claims:

1. A separator for treating materials comprising, in combination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for movement back and forth, yielding means for moving the frame in one direction, a pair of angularly disposed eccentrics for moving the frame in the opposite direction, a pivoted lever actuated by each of the ecccntrics, and a connection between the lever and frame to move the latter in response to the combined action of the eccentrics on the lever.

2. A separator for treating materials comprising, in combination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for movementback and forth, means for moving the frame in one direction, a pair of eccentrics disposed side by side at an angle to each other for moving the frame in the opposite direction, a lever actuated by both eccentrics. and a connection between the lever and frame for moving the frame in response to the combined action of the occentrics.

3. A separator for treating materials comprising, in combination, a supporting base, a frame supported by the base for re:- ciprocatory movement, and means for imparting a progressive vibratory movement to the frame by reversing suddenly the movement of the frame in one direction, comprising mechanism for yieldingly moving the frame in one direction, a pair of similar eccentrics mounted side by side and at an angle to each other for moving the frame in the opposite direction, a rocking lever having a face that extends over and is actuated by both eccentrics, said eccentrics being arranged so that as the lever moves toward the axis of one receding eccentric it is suddenly forced in the opposite direction by the other eccentric, and means connecting the lever to the frame to move the frame in response to the combined action of the eccentrics.

separator for treating materials comprising, in combination, a suaporting base, a frame mounted upon the ase for movement back and forth, means for moving the frame in one direction, eccentrics positioned side by side and at an angle to each other for moving the frame in the opposite direction, a lever actuated by the eocentrics, a resilient pad interposed between the lever and eccentrics to reduce the shock imparted to the lever, and a connection between the lever and frame to actuate the latter in response to the combined action of the eccentrics.

amazes 5,. A separator for treating materials comprising, in combination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for movement backand forth,-,means for moving the frame in one direction, angularly disposed eccentrics for moving the frame in the opposite direction, a sleeve mounted upon each eccentric so that the eccentrics may .rotate freely within the sleeves, a lever actuated by the eccentrics and having a face that rests against the sleeves, and a connection between the leverand frame for actuating the latter.

:6. A separator for treating materials comprising, incombination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for movement back and forth, means for moving the frame in one direction, a pair of angularly disposed eccentrics for moving the framein the opposite direction, a sleeve mounted upon each eccentric, antifriction bearings between each eccentric and its sleeve ,for free rotation of the eccentrics within the sleeves, azlever actuated by both eccentrics and having a face that rests against both sleeves, and a connection between the lever and frame for actuating the latter- :7. A separator for treating materials comprising, in combination, a supporting base, a. frame mounted upon the base for movement back and forth ,inthe direction of its length, a pair of levers pivotally mounted upon said base at points disposed lengthwise thereof, a bar connector secured to the upper ends of the levers to impart movement from one lever to the other, means for securing the bar connector to said frame for adjustment relatively to the frame, spring means connected to one lever and operable to rock the lever to move the frame in one direction, and an eccentric acting upon the other lever to move the frame in the opposite direction.

8. A separator for treating materials comprising, in combination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for movement back and forth in the direction of its length, a pair of levers pivotally mounted upon said base at points disposed lengthwise thereof, a bar connector secured to said levers to impart movement of one lever directly to the other, means for adjustably securing the bar connector to said frame, spring means connected to one lever and operable to rock the lever to move the frame in one direction, and angularly disposed eccentrics acting upon the other lever to move the frame in the opposite direction in response to the combined action of the eccentrics.

9. A separator for treating materials comprising, in combination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for movement back and forth in the direction of its length, a pair of levers pivotally supported by the base at points disposedlengthwise of the base, a bolt having its ends connected to the levers to impart movement of one lever to the other, means for adjusting the bolt lengthwise of the frame to v ry the connection between the levers and frame, Jeans acting through one lever to move the frame in one direction, and clifferent means acting through the other lever to move the frame in the opposite direction.

10. A separator for treating materials, compris ng in combination, a supporting base, i ame mounted upon the base for back ant forth movement in the direction of its length, a pair of lovers pivotally sup ported by the base, a bolt secured to the frame for adjustment in the direction of its length, neans for connecting the ends of said bolt to the levers to impart movement of one lever to the other, means for adjusting the bolt in the direction of itslength to vary the connection between the levers and frame, and means for rocking thelev- 11. A separator for treating materials, comprising in combination, a supporting base a fran ie, rocking arms for supporting the frame upon the base so that the frame will rise and fall under the swinging action of the arms as itmoves back and forth in the direction of its length, a pair of operating levers pivotally supportedby the base, a connection extending fromone lever ,to the other and ,having an intermediate portion secured to the frame to impart the movement of the levers to the frame, means for rocking said levers, and means for adjusting the frame lengthwise of said connection to vary the rising and falling movement imparted to the frame by said rocklng arms.

12. A separator for treating materials, comprising in combination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for back and forth movement, rocking arms for supporting the frame upon the base so that the arms impart a rising and falling movement to the frame as it moves back and forth, power actuated means for moving the frame in one direction, means for moving the frame in the opposite direction, a shaft connected to the frame and having one end connected to the power actuated means and its other end connected to the other operating means, and means for adjusting the frame lengthwise of the shaft to vary the rising and falling movement imparted to the frame by said arms.

13. A separator for treating materials, comprising in combination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for back and forth movement, rocking arms for supporting the frame upon the base so that the arms impart a rising and falling movement to the frame as it moves back and forth, power actuated means for moving the frame in one direction, means for moving the frame in the opposite direction, a threaded bolt connected to the frame and having one end connected to the power actuated means and its otl er end connected to the other operating means, and a rotating wheel having threaded engagement with the bolt and rotatable to adjust the f ane lengthwise of the bolt to vary the rising and falling movement imparted to the frame by said arms.

14. A separator for treating materials, comprising in combination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for back and forth movement, means for moving the frame in one direction, a rocking lever for moving the frame in the opposite direction and having a rounded head in which are formed a pair of cable receiving grooves, and a cable having its intermediate portion looped about the lever to form looped strands disposed in said grooves and having the ends of the strands anchored to said frame for imparting the movement of the lever to the frame.

15. A separator for treating materials, comprising in combination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for back and forth movement, means for moving the frame in one direction, a pivoted rocking lever for moving the frame in the opposite direction and having a rounded head that encircles the pivot of the lever, and a cable having an intermediate portion looped around the lever to form looped strands that extend in the same direction around said head and have the ends of the strands anchored to said frame to impart he movement of the lever to the frame.

16. A separator for treating materials, comprising in combination, a supporting base, a frame mounted upon the base for back and forth movement, a pair of rock ing levers pivctally supported by the base, a pair of cable receiving blocks secured to the frame and adjustable relative to the frame, a cable looped about one lever and secured to one of said blocks, a second cable looped about the second lever and secured to the other block, and means for actuating the levers to pull the frame back and forth.

1?. A separator for treating materials, con'iprising in combination, a supporting ba e, a frame mounted upon the base for ba and forth movement, means for movthe frame in one direction, power means It; moving the frame in the opposite direction, a shaft secured to the frame for adjustment in the direction of its length, means connecting one end of said shaft to the first mentioned means and the other end of the shaft to said power means, and a wheel journaled upon said frame and having threaded engagement with said shaft to adjust the shaft in the direction of its length as the wheel is rotated.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ALBERT H. STEBBINS. 

